Mechanism for transferring cartons or other articles



Nov. 3 1925.

G. HOEPNER MECHANISM FOR TRANSFERRING CARTONS on OTHER ARTICLES Original Fil d May 15. 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 3,1925. 1,559,615

. G. HOEPNER' uucmmlsu FOR TRANSfERRING CARTONS on mm ARTICLES ul-111m Filed May 15. 1 22 s Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 3,1925.

- I G. HOEPNER ONS OR OTHER ARTICLES IECHANISH FOR TRANSFERRING CART s Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed Mav 15. 1922 Patented Nov. 3, 1925.

UNITED s'r GE O RGE HOEPNER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MECHANISM FOR TRANSFERRING CARTONS OR OTHER ARTICLES.

Original application filed May 15, 1922, Serial No.

561,045. Divided and this application filed October as, 1923. Serial no. 671,481.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE HOEPNER, a citizen of'the United States, residing at Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois,

\ have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Mechanism for Transferring Cartons or Other Articles, and declare the foilowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will en- I able others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying draw-. ings, which form a part of this specification. Y

F The present application is a division of an application filed by me on May 15, 1922,

Serial 'No. 561,045, for automatic carton sealing machine.

There are many mechanisms or apparatuses in which it is desirable to transfer articles moved along a way,as for example articles carried by a "belt-like conveyor, to a suitable receiving mechanism into which the articles must be delivered one at a time, i and at such times when the mechanism is in position to receive them. For example, it is common practice to fill cartons as they are carried past a weighing machine on a .conveyor, and then to transfer the filled cartons'oneat a time to a. sealing mechanisni. In order properly to transfer the cartons from the conveyor, ,it'is necessary that each carton be accurately positioned with respect to the transferring mechanism before the latter can act.

Specifically considered, the object of the present invention is to produce a simple and novel mechanism whereby filled cartons will be automatically fed from a way or conveyor into a holder or receiver, in such a manner that the feeding mechanism will be positively controlled b individual cartons as they reach a pre etermined point, thus insuring perfect synchronism between the feeding of cartons and the movement of the carrier for the holder when there are cartons to be delivered, and preventing the operation of the feeding mechanism at other times.

Viewed in its broadest aspect, my invention may be said to have for its object to produce a simple and novel mechanism for transferring articles from a conveyor. or way in such a manner that the mechanism is under the control of an article and will not operate except when such an article a has been brought to a predetermined psition with respect thereto.

A further object of the present invention is to produce a simple and novel feed.- 1ng mechanism forfcartons or other articles which will insure against the breaking of or damage to the mechanism in case one or vmore of the cartons or other articles shoaild happen to become jammed in the mechanism.

The various features of novelty whereby,

my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but for a full understanding of;

my invention and of its'objectsand advan: tages, reference may behadato the followlng detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,

wherein: v

Figure 1 is a top plan View of a mecha- ,nism arranged in accordance with a preferred form of my invention,'for transferring cartons from a, conveyor into a sealing machine a fragment of the sealing machine being shown; Figs. 2 and 3 are sections, on

an enlarged scale, taken approximately on line 22 1n Fig. 6, showing two different positions of the cam actuator for the feeding mechanism; Figs. 4 and '5 are views similar to Fig.1, showing different positions of the parts, smaller fragments of the sealing machine being shown than in Fig. 1; and Fig. 6 is a' section, ona smaller A ijcale, taken approximately on line 66 of i 1.

, n the drawings I have illustrated ,m invention as applied to the feeding of' led A cartons to' a sealing machine and, for the sake ofbrefity, I shall confine the detailed description to this particular formand use.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents 12 fixed to the under side ofthe table. Therefore, as the shaft 8 revolves, it causes the table and the carton holders carried thereby to be rotated about a vertical axis. The

carton holders are open on their outer sides so that cartons may be inserted'into them.

in directions radial to the table. The present invention is not concerned with the details of the sealing mechanism, which is fully described and claimed in my aforesaid application; and. it is therefore believed that this brief description of the sealing conveyor near the free en -ries a carton up plane at right angles to the conveyor. and

fering with the sealer.

mechanism is suflicient to make clear the use to which my invention is put.

The filled cartons are brought to the sealing machine on an endless horizontal conveyor 13 arranged close to the sealing machine and extending for some distance past a plane extending through the same at right angles and containing the axis of rotation ofthe' sealing machine. Extending across the top of the conveyor is a stop bar 14 so positioned that when the conveyor carto' the same, a vertical ing cartonscould push that carton against the stop with sufficient force to swing the stop out of the way and permit the jammed carton to be ejected; there being a curved rail 17 extending from a (point above the of the stop so as to lie between an ejected carton and the sealer and prevent such carton from inter- The cartons are moved from the conveyor into the holders by means of a pusher bar-18 whose axis is in a vertical plane arranged at right angles to the conveyor and containing the axis of rotation of the sealer; the bar having at its front end a tranverse plate 19 of approxivmately the width and height of a carton, so

that the pressure will be distributed over an entire side of the carton, while it is being pushed off the conveyor into the holder. The plate 19 has a rearwardly-extending flange 20 at .the edge directed toward the oncoming cartons. This flange is provided with a horizontal slot 21. Inthe angle formed between the pusher plate and its flange i" mounted a dog 22 having anose 23 that is adapted to projectthrough the slot 21. A light spring from being fed or transferred' 24 tends to hold the dog'words,

pressed against the inner faceof the flange with-the nose projectin'g through the slot.

At the rear edge of the conveyor is placed a stationary stop 25 in such position that when the pusher is at the forward limit of its movement, as shown in Fig. 1, the nose ,of the dog will'drop in front of the stop,

thus holding the pusher plate against being retracted from a position near the frontedge of the conveyor. The dog is then in such a position that an oncoming carton,

such as indicated in dotted lines at A in Eig. 1, will strike the nose of the dog and, under certain conditions, will push the dog back clear of the stationary stop and thus free the pusher device. A tension spring 26, arranged between the plate 19 and a stationary part 27, tends constantly to retract the pusher device into the position shown in Fig. 5, wherein the pusher plate lies wholly on one side of the path of movement of a carton on the conveyor. The cartons on the conveyor are preferably caused to travel between stationary parallel guides 28 and 29, which may be said to form a way for the cartons. While the pusher device will be retracted by a spring at any time when the spring is left free toact. it must be moved through its forward or Working stroke positively and in definite time relation to the movements of the sealer. To accomplish this I have connected the pusher rod to the free end of one arm 30 of a bell crank lever which is pivotally supported at its elbow, as indicated at 31, on a part 32 of-the stationary frame. The arm 30 is approximately vertical, while the other arm 33, of the bell crank lever, is approximately horizontal and lies above and parallel to a projectingend of thefmain shaft 8. To the free end of the arm 33 is attached one end of a connecting rod 34, the other end of which is provided with a closed elongated loop 35 surrounding the main shaft. On the main shaft is a cam 36, and on the lower end of the-loop is a laterally-projecting lug 37 lying in the path of the cam. It will be seen that as the main shaft rotates, the cam will strike the lug once during each revolution and will force the lug, and therefore the connecting rod, down. This causes the vertical arm of the bell crank lever to be moved in the clockwise direction, as it appears in Fig. 6, namely, in the direction to perform a workingstroke. I prefer so -toconstruct the parts that the nose of the dog, which preferably has a square working face or shoulder for-engagement with the stop, cannot be pushed into a released position from the position shown in .Fig. 1: That is, while engaging the stop, without exertion of a considerably greater pressure than that required toovercome the resistance of the light spring acting on the dog. In other while the parts are in .the positionslot illustrated in Fig. 1, a carton may be carried upto the pusher device by the conveyor and, although it engages with the locking dog, it will not release the latter, brit,

ment of the dog with the stop, but is in a slightly retracted position; Fig. 4 illustrating the parts as they appear when the pusher device is in its extreme forward position. The sealer and the pusher mechanismare so coordinated that just before a holder in the sealer reaches the receiving position, namely, when the parts are in the positions illu'stratedin Fig. 4:, thecam engages with the lug 37' and pushes it down.

slightly. Theresult is that the pusher rod is given a sliglit'forward movenicntto bring it to the end of its working stroke, thus carrying the nose of the dog away from its cooperating stop. Only aslight pressure is now necessary to force the dog into a released position, and the carton, whose movement may have been arrested by the dog, will again begin to travel with the conveyor and will push the dog. back so that as soon as the cam has passed the cooperating lug, the retracting spring is left free to carry the pusher device back into the position shown in Fig. 5. By the time that the carton holder has travelled from the position shown in Fig. 4: to that shown in Fig. 5, the actuating cam will have almost completed another revolution. Consequently the pusher device will be driven through a quick working stroke, while the holder remains in the position shown in Fig. 5; the carton in'the meantime having been carried along by the conveyor into engagement with the bar 14, so as to lie in front'of the pusher device, and the carton will therefore be moved by the latter into the holder during such working stroke. The cycle can be clearly understood from Figs. 1, 4 and 5. Thus, in Fig. 1, the carton shown in dotted lines has been brought into position to drop the catch when .the pusher; device has been given the slight forward movement to the positionshown in Fig. 4." In Fig. 5 the pusher device has been retracted and the carton has beencarried by the conveyor in front of the pusher device so that immediatelf thereafter the carton will be'pushed into the holder, as shown in full lines in Fig. 1.

As another safety factor, in order to prevent possible injury due to accidental jamming of-cartons in the feed mechamsm', I- preferto make the connection. between the bell crank lever and the "pusher rod such that the bell crank levermay, under abnormal conditions, oscillate without mov- 3 ing the rod. To this end I place a spring between the bell crank'lever and-the pusher red, the spring'being strong enough to give to the connection the requisite rigidity d-uring normal operation, to ermit the rod to stand still while the bell crank lever is moving through a working stroke, in case the pusher device meetsgan obstruction, In

the arrangement shown, I have fastened to the. upper end; off the arm of .the bell crank lever a 38- that extends rearwardly parallel with the pusher rod and has its rear end bent at right angles, as indicated at 39; the pusher rod extending freely through the part 89. "A strong spring 40 is placed around the pusher red, the same being engaged at its rear end with the member 39 and at its front end with a collar 41 adjustably secured upon the rod. It will therefore be seen that if something should happen to make'it impossible for the pusher rod to force a filled carton ahead. of it 01f the conveyor, the forward movement of the upper end of the vertical arm of the bell crank lever would simply produce a compression of the spring lt); thus avoiding any danger of breaking or damaging any of the mechanism. occur if the carton holder reached the receiving point at a time when the oncoming carton could not be squarely aligned with it but was compelled to remain somewhat out of' alignment and thus strike against the outer edge of one of the side walls of the holder instead of entering the holder. In such a case the yieldable connection between Such a situation would-- the actuating lever and the pusher rod would permit the lever to move independently of the rod, in making its working stroke, and no damage to the mechanism could result.

While I have illustrated and described with particularity'only a single preferred form of my invention, I do not. desire to be limited to the exact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend to cover all forms and arrangements which come within the terms employed in the definition's of my invention constituting the appended claims.

I claim:

1. movable conveyor, a pusher member arranged above and adapted to reciprocate transversel, of the latter between a positionin which it lies on one side of the conyeyor and a position in which it'extends across the conveyor, means for actuating said pusher member, a stationary member, and a dog co-operating directly with said members to lock the pusher member in a position overlying the conveyor, said dog 2, A movable conveyor, a pusher member arranged above and adapted to riclprocate transversely of the latter between a position in which it lies on one side of the conveyor and a position in which it extends across the conveyor, means for actuating said pusher and a position which it extends across the, conveyor, means for actuating 'said pusher member, a stationary member, and a dog mounted on said pusher member and adapted toengage said statlonary member to'lock the pusher member in a position in which it overlies said conveyor, said dog lying in the path of an oncoming object on.

the conveyor and being movable in the same direction as such object to reach a release position. I

4. A movable conveyor, a pusher member arranged above and adapted to reciprocate transversely of the latter, a spring tending constantly. to hold said member retracted in.a position in which it lies on one side of the conveyor, a locking dog associated with said member and serving tolock it against retraction in a position overlying the conveyor, said locking dog being arranged in the path of an objectapproaching said member on the conveyor, and means acting intermittently on said member in a direction tending to move it in the opposite direction from that in which the spring tends to move it.

' 5. A movable conveyor, a pusher member a rranged above and adapted to reciprocate transversely of the latter, a spring tending constantly to hold said member retracted in a position in which it lies on one side of the conveyor, a locking dog associated with said member and servlng to lock it against retraction in a position overlying the conveyor, said locking dog being arranged in the lpath of an object approaching said mem er on the conveyor, and means acting intermittently on said member to move it forward past the position in which it is held by said dog and thus leave the dog free to be swung to a release position.

6. A movable conveyor, a pusher member arranged above and adapted to reciprocate transversely of the latter, a spring tending constantly to hold said member retracted 'in a position in which-it lies on one side of the conveyor, a locking dog associated with said member and serving to lock it against retraction in a position overlying the conveyor, said-locking dog being arranged in the. ath of an object approaching said mem er on the conveyor, andmeans acting intermittently on said member in a direction tending to move it in the opposite direction from that in which the spring tends to move it, said means including a spring connecting element much stronger than the aforesaid spring. i

7. A movable conveyor, a pusher member arranged above and adapted to reciprocate transversely of the latter, a stop arranged above the conveyor just beyond the said member in the direction of travel of the conveyor, a spring tending constantly to hold said member retracted in a position in which'it lies on one side of the conveyor, 9.- locking dog associated with said member and serving to lock it against retract'um in a position overlying the conveyor, said locking dog being arranged inthe path of 8. A movable conveyor, a pusher member;

arranged above and adapted to reciprocate transversely of the latter, a stoparranged above the conveyor just beyond the said member in the direction of travel of the conveyor and yieldable .in the direction of travel of the conveyor, a spring tending constantly to hold said member retracted in a position in which it lies on one side of the conveyor, a locking dog associated with said member and serving to lock it against retraction in a position overlying the con-.

veyor, said locking dog being arranged in the path of an object approaching said an object approaching said member on the member on the conveyor, and means acting intermittently on said member in a direction tending to move it in the opposite direction from that in which the spring tends to move it.

9. A movable conveyor, a pusher member arranged above and adapted. to reciprocate transversely of the latter, a spring tending constantly to hold said member retracted in a position in which it lies on one side of the conveyor, a locking dog associated with said member and serving to lock it against retraction in a position overlying the conveyor, said locking dog being arranged inwthe path of an object approaching said member on the conveyor, a bell -crank lever connected at one end to said .pusher rod, and a device adapted to act intermittently on the other end of said bell crank lever to swin the lever in a direction to carry the pus er member forwardly across theconveyon 10. A movable conveyor, a pusher member arranged above and adapted vte reciprocate v transversely of the latter, a spring tending including a spring constantly to hold said .member retracted in a' position in which it lies on one side of the conveyor, a locking dog associated with said member and serving to lock it against retraction in a position overlying the conveyor, said locking dog being, arranged in the path ofan object approaching said member on. the conveyor, a bell crank lever connected atone end to said pusher rod, and a rotatable cam inposition to act on the other arm. of said bell crank lever at a predetermined point in its rotation to cause the lever to move said member in a forward direction across the conveyor While "leaving the lever free to be moved'independently of the cam at other times.

11. A movable conveyor, a pusher mem-v ber arranged above and adapted to reciprocate transversely of the latter, a spring tending constantly to hold said memberretracted in a position in which it lies on one side of the conveyor, a locking dog asso-' ciated with said member and'serving to lock it against retraction in a'position overlying the conveyor, said locking dog being arranged in the path of an object approaching said member on the conveyor, a' bell crank lever connected at one end to said pusher rod,'and a device adapted to actin termittently'on the otherend of said bell crank lever to swing the lever in a direction to carry the pusher member forwardly across the conveyor, the connection'between the bell crank lever and the pusher member hich is stronger than the aforesaid spring."

12. A rotatable element having a plurality of holders at the periphery, aconveyorextending past said element in proximity to the path of said holders, a pusher member arranged above 'saidconveyor and movable transversely of the conveyor at right line of movement of saidipus11er.==member, a

angles to the'adjacent'portion of .the path of travel of said holders, a spring tendingto retract said member to a position clear of the conveyor," mechanism adapted to move said member in the direction of a working stroke only at intervals bearing a definite'time relation to the travel of the holders, leaving'the spring free to act during the remainder of the time ;'a stationary member; and a dog mounted on one-of the aforesaid members and adapted to engage the other of I said members to lock the pusher member against retraction by the spring, thedog lying in the path of an ob ject' carried toward the pusher member by the conveyor and being adapted. to be tripped by such obj ect to release the pusher member.

13. In combination, a conveyor, va'pusher member arranged above and movable transver'sely' across the conveyor, a holder adjacent to'the conveyor and movable across the spring forretracting said member, an actu' ator forv movingsaid member through a working strokev toward said holder, an elecate transversely of the latter between a position in'which itlies on one side of the conveyor and a position 1n which ite'xtends across the conveyor, sa1d member comp'r1s-.

ing a rod having at one. end a plate ar ranged at right'angles thereto, saidQpla-te having a flange extending rearwardly from that edge which is directed.towardanfzobject approaching said member on the con: veyor, means for actuating. said" pusher member, a stationary stop adjacent t o the path of travel of said flange, and a dog carried by said flange and adapted to engage said stop to lock the pusher member in a position overlying the conveyor, said dog being located in the path of and being adapted to be tripped by anobject carried toward. said pusher member by theconveyor. I i a y g 5" 15. A movable conveyor, a pusher member transversely of the. latter between a position in which it lies on one side of the conveyor and a position in which it extends across the.

conveyor, means for actuating said pusher member, a stationary. stop located on one side of'the conveyor'adjacent to said memher, and a dog mounted on said member and adapted to engage the other -,of. said -members to lock the-pusher memberzin a position overlying said-conveyor, said-dog being movable in the direction of travel of the conveyor into a release position :and projecting into the: path otan object car-v ried toward the pusher member by" the conveyor. Q 16. A movable conveyor, a pusher member arranged above and adapted to recip rocate transversely of the latter, a spring tending constantly tofholdsaid member retracted in a position "in which'itfilies on one side of the conveyor, a stationary stop at one side of the conveyor and-adjacent "to said member, ,a locking dog mountedpon" said member' in-position to engage" with sa' d stop'when sa1d member'ls 1n apo'sition overlyingthe conveyor and lock said member against being. retra-cted,':said' locking dog being arranged in the path-ofan It a object approaching said member on the conveyor and being adapted to be moved thereby to act-release position, and means acting intermittently on said member to 17 A movable conveyor, a pusher member arranged above and adapted to reciprocate transversely of the latter, a spring tending constantly to hold said member retracted in a position in which it lies on one side of the conveyor, a stop arranged at one side of the conveyor adjacent to said member, a locking dog associated withsaid member and adapted to engage said stop to lock said member against retraction in a position overlying theconveyorr said locking dog being arranged in the path of an object approaching said member on the conveyor and movable thereby to a release position, a bell crank lever connected atone end to said pusher rod, and a device not connected to the lever adapted to act intermittently on the other end of said lever to swing it in a direction to move the pusher member forwardly at toss the conveyor far enough to carry the slog out of engagement with the stop and thus leave the dog free lease position. v

18. A movable conveyor, a holder movable past the conveyor and following 'a path which brings it adjacent to the con-' "eyor at a predetermined point in its movement, a pusher member adapted to push an' object from the conveyor into engagement wih the holder when the latter reaches a predetermined point, a spring for retracting said member, a lever for actuating said member through a working stroke, a stationary stop at one .side of the conveyor, a dog mounted on said member at such a point that it will engage with said stop after said member has been retracted to be moved into its reslightly from the end of its workinglstroke 7 and lock said member against furt or retraction, said dog lying in the path of and adapted to be tripped by an object carried toward said pusher member by the conveyor, and means disconnected from said: lever adapted to engage the same intermittently to cause the latter to move the pusher member to the end of its working stroke.

19. A movable conveyor, a pusher member arranged above-and adapted to reciprocatetransversely of the latter, said member comprising a rod having on one end a late ary ranged parallel with the direction of travel of the conveyor and having on the edge directed toward an'advancing object a rearangles thereto, said flange havinga slot ex- 1 tending through the same, a stop arranged above the conveyor just beyond the saidmember inthe direction of travel of the conveyor, a spring tending constantly to hold said member retractedin a position in which it lies on one side of the conveyor, a-locking dog pivotally mounted on said plate. and adapted to project into the path of an object approaching said plate on the conveyor, a stop on one side of the conveyor in position to be engaged by said dog to hold said member against retraction in a position overlying said conveyor, and means acting intermittently on said member in a direction tending to move it in; the opposite direction from that in which the spring tends to move it.

20. A movable conveyor, a series of holders movable past the conveyor and following a path which brings them successively into positions adjacent to the conveyor, a pusher member adapted to push an object from the conveyor into engagement with the holder when the latter reaches a predetermined point, ajspring for retracting said member, a lever for. actuating said member through a working stroke, a stationary stop on one side of the conveyor, a dog mounted on said member at such a point that it will engage with said stop after said member has been retracted slightly from the end of its working stroke and lock said member against further retraction, said dog lying in the path of and adapted to betri ped by an object carried toward said push r member by the conveyor; and means disconnected from said lever and operating in predetermined time relation to the movement of said holders, adapted to engage the same intermittently to cause the latter to move the pusher member to the end of its working stroke whenever a holder "registers with said pusher member.

21. In combination with a wa which. articles are adapted to travel, ticle pusher movable across said way to remove therefrom "an article disposed in front of said pusher, means ,for intermittently ad on said way for removal therefrom by said pusher whereby to prevent full retraction of the pusher, and automatically removed when an article is correctly ositioned on said way wherebly to permit ull retraction. of the pusher an subsequent advance ofsaid articleto a position in front of said pusher wherein it will be removed from the way upon the next advanfe of the pusher.

22. In combinaxion, with a way along along an arvancing saidpusher, ineans normally effecwhich articles are adapted to travel, an article pusher movable across said way to remove therefrom an article disposed in front of said pusher, means for intern'iittcntly advancing said pusher, tive to fully retract advance thereof, a latch mechanism 'for said pusher automatically applied when :10 article is correctly positioned on said way for removal therefrom by the pusher whereby to prevent full retraction of the pusher,

- and automatically removed-when an article is correctly positioned on said way whereby to permit full retraction of the pusher and advance of the article to a position in front of said pusher wherein it will be removed from said way uponthe next advance of the pusher, and a latch releaser mounted for,

contact with an article correctly positioned on said way as the pusher commences its return stroke and effective upon such contact to remove said latch. j

23. In combination with a way along which articles are adapted to travel, an article pusher movable across said way to remove therefrom an article disposed in front of said pusher, means for intermittently advancing said pusher, means normally effective to fully retract said pusher after each advance thereof, a latch mechanism for said pusher automatically applied when no article is correctly positioned on said way for removal therefrom by the pusher whereby to prevent full retraction of the pusher and automatically removed when an article is correctly positioned on said way whereby to.-permit full retraction of the pusher and subsequent advance of the article to aposition in front of said pusher wherein it will be' removedfrom said way u on the next advance of the pusher, and a atch releaser mounted on said pusher for contact with an article correctly positioned on said way as the pushencommences its return stroke and effective upon such contact to remove said latch, said latch releaser so mounted upon said pu her as not to contact an article incorrectly-positioned on said way.

24. In" combination with a way along which arlticles are adapted to travel, an article pusher movable across said way, means for intermittently advancing said pusher,

" means normally 'efi'ective to fully retract said pusher after each advance thereof, and means for preventing full retraction of the pusher when no article is correctly positioned on said way for removal therefrom by said pusher. I 25. In combination with a way along which articles are adapted to travel, an article pusher movable relative to said way, means for intermittently advancing and retracting said pusher, and a latch mechanism for said pusher automatically released when an article is correctly positioned on said artimeans normally efi'ecsaid pusher after each said way,

to remove said latch.-

contact to remove said latch.

27. In combination with a way along which articles are adapted to travel,an article pusher movable intermittently across said way, means for intermittently advancing and retracting said pusher, a normally applied latch for said pusher, and a latchreleaser mounted on said pusher for contact with an article-correctly positioned on said article way and eflective upon such contact toremovesaid latch, said latch re-. leaser so mounted on said pusher as. not to contact an article incorrectly positioned on said article way.

28. In combination with a way along which articles are adapted article pusher movable, across said way,

means for intermittently advancing and retracting said pusher, a normally applied latch for said pusher effective when applied to prevent full retraction of said pusher and when removed to permit such full retraction, and a latch releaser mounted on said pusher, and a latch to. travel, an

said pus-her and actuated by contact with an article correctly positioned on. said way 29. In combination vwith a way along which packages are adapted to travel, a' said way,

package pusher movable across means for intermittently advancing and retracting said pusher, a normally applied pusher latch, and a latch releaser actuated by contact with a package correctly positioned on said way to remove said latch.

30. In combination with a way along which packages areadapted to travel, a

package pusher movable across said way,

means for intermittently advancing and retracting said pusher, a pusher .latch, a spring normally maintaining said latch applied, and a latch releaser carried bythe pusher and actuated by contact with a.

package correctly positioned on said way to remove said latch.

vhich packages are adapted to travel, a

- 31. In combination with a way along package-pusher movable across said way,.

means for intermittently advancing and re tracting said pusher, a rock shaft, a normally applied pusher latch thereon, and a latch releaser on said shaft actuated by conmechanism for pushing face effective tact with a package correctly positioned on said way to remove said latch.

32. In combination with a way along which articles are adapted to travel, an article pusher movable transversely of said way for successively removing articles there from, means "for advancing said pusher, means normally eflective to retract said pusher, and a normally applied latching said pusher effective to prevent full retraction of said pusher when no article is correctly positioned on the way for removal by the pusher and releasable t the actuation. of an article correctly positioned on said way to permit full retraction of the pusher. a 33. In combination with a package way along which packages are adapted to travel, an article pusher having a package stop face disposed across said way and a package to remove a package disposed in front'of said pusher, means for advancing and retracting said pusher, a latch mechanism for said pusher automatically applied. and removed at each advance of said pusher and effective when applied to prevent full retraction of the pusher, and a latch releaser disposed beyond said'stop face of the pusher for contact with a' package correctly positioned on said way and effective upon actuation to remove said latch and permit the pusher to be fully retracted so that said package may advance to a position infront of the pushing face of the pusher for transfer thereby upon the next advance of the pusher.

34. In combination with a package way along which packages are adapted to travel,

a; package pusher having a stop face normally disposed across said way'to prevent packages from advancing therealong, means for advancing said pusher, means normally effective to fully retract said pusher whereby to permit apackage to advance into a position in front of said pusher for transfer thereby upon the next alvance of the pusher, a normally applied latch mechanism effective to prevent full retraction of the pusher, and a' latch releaserdisposed beyond the stop face of the pusher for contact with a package correctly positioned on said way whereby to remove said latch and permit.

full retraction of the pusher. p

35. In combination with a way along which packages are adapted to travel, a package pusher having a pushing face disposed substantially parallel to said way and a package stop face disposed at substantially right angles thereto, means for intermittently advancing said pusher across said Way, means normally effective to fully retract said pusher whereby to clear the package stop face thereof from the way and permit a package on said way to advance to a position 1n front of the pushing face of the retracted pusher, a normally applied. latch mechanism effective to prevent full retraction of the pusher, and a latch releaser operatively connected with said latch mechanism and disposed past the stop face of said pusher for contact with a package correctly positioned on the package way and effective upon such contact to move said latch and permit pusher.

In testimony whereof, I cation.

GEORGE ,HOEPNER.

sign this specifi--.

full retraction of the 

